“A private intelligence firm in Texas has known of a sealed Grand Jury indictment on Australian citizen Julian Assange for more than one year. When did our government know?”

Australian Greens communications spokesperson, Senator for Western Australia Scott Ludlam, will ask this question of the Prime Minister’s representative in Senate Question Time today.

“Has the United States Government kept this indictment secret from Australia for 13 months, or has the Prime Minister been keeping it secret from us?”

“The Australian Government has either been kept spectacularly ignorant by the US, or is complicit in this attempt to destroy the WikiLeaks organisation.”

An email sent on 26 January 2011 by Stratfor Vice President of Intelligence Fred Burton states: ‘We have a sealed indictment on Assange.’

“My questions on notice have yielded little on this matter. Our now-former Foreign Minister was ‘not aware of any current extradition request’, and when pushed said he had asked but that this was a matter for the Attorney General. The then Attorney General said he was ‘not aware’ and that this is a matter for the US anyway.

“My Freedom of Information requests to the Prime Minister, Attorney General and Foreign Minister have been inordinately delayed and frustrated at every turn. It’s time for the truth.”